Road works at Ventnor detour us up a steep hill with a sharp bend, preventing us from parking in the car park of the Botanic Garden, however there is plenty of parking along the side of the road so we tuck in behind another van of a similar size and save ourselves £5.oo. http://www.botanic.co.uk/
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| Smugglers Haven Tea room Bonchurch |
Having parked up, we booted up, packed a rucksack and headed off to Bonchurch. We soon reached the Tea rooms and sat down to a cuppa and a rock cake, a bread pudding was saved for later £4.50.
Devils Chimney next, a cleft in the cliff, legend says by smugglers. This narrow stairway leads down to the "Landslip", which can be explored in both directions, Shanklin or Ventnor. We head for Ventnor and soon are walking along the Coastal Footpath.
We lunch on a bench in Ventnor, unfortunately we have to face away from the sea view as it is very windy and cold. Our path soon leads to the gates of the Botanic Garden, which is a fabulous collection of plants representing different areas of the world. We spent the £1.oo entrance fee to view the Greenhouse collection ( very hot). A further mile up the hill and we are back at the van and the short drive back to the site.
